By Bianca Buono 3-5-2013 
The Toronto Blue Jays made major offseason moves, including a blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins. That trade brought over a multitude of players, including Jose Reyes, John Buck, Emilio Bonifacio, Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson. Johnson, a 6’7 29-year-old from Minneapolis, has had to make a major transition in location.
But despite the change of scenery, moving with his best friend has made everything easier.
“I can look over to Buehrle and he always makes me laugh,” Johnson said, in the locker room before Toronto played the Baltimore Orioles.Buehrle managed to make Johnson laugh during the interview by throwing a pen in his direction.
Not only do the two share space in the locker room but they also share the pitching position. Johnson is expected to be in the top five pitching rotation, and has used the last 28 days to get focused for a long season.
“It’s a long spring. You have a lot of time to get your work in,” he said. “I definitely want to win a World Series, so I’ll do whatever it takes to get there.”
In addition to Johnson and Buehrle, Toronto also brought in R.A. Dickey. Dickey is the only true knuckleball pitcher in major league baseball. With the addition of these three arms, the Blue Jays’ pitching staff is a force to be reckoned with.
Before the season gets started, Johnson said he is enjoying the laid back attitude that the Blue Jays management team brings to spring training.
“It has been awesome. Nothing but good things,” Johnson said.
Teammate Lars Anderson is also transitioning to the Blue Jays and he feels the same way.
“The philosophy is pretty simple. It’s let the players play baseball,” Anderson said.
Johnson did acknowledge that the offseason that brought him and Anderson to the toughest division in baseball: the AL East.
“You can go up and down through the teams and see what the Rays and Orioles did. They’re tough,” he said. “And then there’s Boston and New York and that kind of speaks for itself.”
Last season, Toronto finished in 4th place in the division with a 73-89 record.